Senior Extension Associate

Thomas Maloney is a senior extension associate in the Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management at Cornell University. He spent the first 10 years of his career as a Cooperative Extension farm management agent in Cortland County, New York. In 1985 joined AEM and has been responsible for extension programs in human resource management multicultural workforce management and agricultural labor policy. He has conducted numerous workshops, written a variety of bulletins, and conducted applied research on a range of human resource topics related to farm businesses. His primary areas of interest include employee recruitment, compensation, performance appraisal, motivation. In recent years his extension program has focused on Hispanic workforce and immigration policy issues impacting agricultural employers in New York.

Research Focus

Applied research in agricultural human resource management and agricultural labor policy supports the extension program. The current applied research focus is on immigration reform and the demographics of New York's agricultural workforce.

Outreach and Extension Focus

My extension and outreach program has three primary objectives. The first object is to improve the ability of agricultural employers to attract, retain and supervise their employees. The second objective is to develop extension programs that will enable the New York's agricultural employers to promote positive attitudes toward cultural diversity within their business and in their community. The third objective is to provide information that will inform the policy making process as it relates to immigration and other agricultural labor policies.

Awards and Honors

SARE Fellows Award (2013) Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program

Presentations and Activities

Immigration Reform in Agriculture: An Extension Policy Education Program. Public Issues Leadership Development Conference. April 2012. Joint Council of Extension Professionals. Washington DC.